Quotulatiousness

February 2, 2020

Africa, the Axis’ Achilles Heel – The Allied African Campaigns – WW2 – 075 – February 1, 1941

Filed under: Africa, Britain, Germany, Greece, History, Italy, Military, WW2 — Tags: , , , , — Nicholas @ 06:00

World War Two
Published 1 Feb 2020

Greek Prime Minister Ioannis Metaxas dies this week as Italy is still uncomfortably wrapped up in the Albanian Mountains. Italy also finds itself in a pickle on other fronts, as Allied troops in Africa move into Italian territory with three offensives this week.

Join us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/TimeGhostHistory
Or join The TimeGhost Army directly at: https://timeghost.tv

Follow WW2 day by day on Instagram @World_war_two_realtime https://www.instagram.com/world_war_t…
Join our Discord Server: https://discord.gg/D6D2aYN.
Between 2 Wars: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list…
Source list: http://bit.ly/WW2sources

Written and Hosted by: Indy Neidell
Produced and Directed by: Spartacus Olsson and Astrid Deinhard
Executive Producers: Bodo Rittenauer, Astrid Deinhard, Indy Neidell, Spartacus Olsson
Creative Producer: Joram Appel
Post-Production Director: Wieke Kapteijns
Research by: Indy Neidell
Edited by: Mikołaj Cackowski
Map animations: Eastory (https://www.youtube.com/c/eastory)

Colorizations by:
Dememorabilia – https://www.instagram.com/dememorabilia/
Adrien Fillon – https://www.instagram.com/adrien.colo…
Julius Jääskeläinen – https://www.facebook.com/JJcolorization/

Sources:
IWM (IND 883); (IND 2405); (E 3661); (E6661)
Vatican by Made by Made from the Noun Project
king crown by ProSymbols from the Noun Project
tick by akash k from the Noun Project
Artillery by Creative Mania from the Noun Project

Soundtrack from the Epidemic Sound:
Christian Andersen – “Disciples of Sun Tzu”
Reynard Seidel – “Deflection”
Fabien Tell – “Last Point of Safe Return”
Johan Hynynen – “Dark Beginning”
Bonnie Grace – “Imperious”
Johannes Bornlof – “Last Man Standing 3”

Archive by Screenocean/Reuters https://www.screenocean.com.

A TimeGhost chronological documentary produced by OnLion Entertainment GmbH.

January 26, 2020

When Anti-Semites Infight, Jews Still Die – Pogroms in Romania – WW2 – 074 – January 25, 1941

Filed under: Africa, Britain, Europe, History, Italy, Military, WW2 — Tags: , , , , , , — Nicholas @ 04:00

World War Two
Published 25 Jan 2020

The British offensive in East-Africa takes off with some rapid advances. Meanwhile in Eastern-Europe, Romania is the stage of fierce anti-semitism, but also infighting between two of the groups causing the anti-semitism.

Join us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/TimeGhostHistory
Or join The TimeGhost Army directly at: https://timeghost.tv

Follow WW2 day by day on Instagram @World_war_two_realtime https://www.instagram.com/world_war_t…
Join our Discord Server: https://discord.gg/D6D2aYN.
Between 2 Wars: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list…
Source list: http://bit.ly/WW2sources

Written and Hosted by: Indy Neidell
Produced and Directed by: Spartacus Olsson and Astrid Deinhard
Executive Producers: Bodo Rittenauer, Astrid Deinhard, Indy Neidell, Spartacus Olsson
Creative Producer: Joram Appel
Post-Production Director: Wieke Kapteijns
Research by: Indy Neidell
Edited by: Mikołaj Cackowski
Map animations: Eastory (https://www.youtube.com/c/eastory)
Additional animations: Ryan Weatherby

Colorizations by:
Adrien Fillon – https://www.instagram.com/adrien.colo…
Julius Jääskeläinen – https://www.facebook.com/JJcolorization/
Dememorabilia – https://www.instagram.com/dememorabilia/
Daniel Weiss

Sources:
IWM (B 10600)
Narodowe Archiwum Cyfrowe
freemason by Kyle Tezak from the Noun Project
Letter by Mochammad Kafi from the Noun Project
ETH-Bibliothek Zürich, Bildarchiv / Fotograf: Wehrli, Leo / Dia_247-08618
Private collection of Riggio family https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fi…

Soundtracks from the Epidemic Sound:
Philip Ayers – “The Unexplored”
Max Anson – “Ancient Saga”
Hakan Erikson – “Epic Adventure Theme 4”
Andreas Jamsheree – “Guilty Shadows 4”
Johannes Bornlof – “Last Man Standing 3”

Archive by Screenocean/Reuters https://www.screenocean.com.

A TimeGhost chronological documentary produced by OnLion Entertainment GmbH.

From the comments:

World War Two
2 days ago
Thank you all so much for reaching 400.000 subscribers! Thanks to all of your support and enthusiasm, more and more people get to see more and better content. In fact, from mid-February onwards, we are going to publish three WW2 videos a week, including Out of the Foxholes, Biographies, Special Episodes, War Against Humanity and a new series on the Homefronts. Not only that, we are also going to start a new series on the TimeGhost History Channel (http://www.youtube.com/c/timeghost). Our Patreons get to vote on what we’ll do next! So don’t miss out and change history here -> https://www.patreon.com/posts/what-timeghost-33300161
Cheers, Joram

January 14, 2020

The Desert Fox | Rommel’s FIRST Battle in the North African Campaign | BATTLESTORM

Filed under: Africa, Australia, Britain, Germany, History, Italy, Military, WW2 — Tags: , , , — Nicholas @ 04:00

TIK
Published 17 May 2016

Erwin Rommel faces the might of the British Empire. In 3D animation, we’ll see the units, the battlefield and the tactics The Desert Fox uses to overcome the British and Australian forces at Mersa Brega and throw them out of Italian Libya. Except for Tobruk of course! The video covers Erwin Rommel’s arrival in Italian Libya up to the beginning part of the Battle of Tobruk 1941.

This video is Part 2 of the Western Desert Campaign – Part 1 (Operation Compass) is in the link below
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b71kd…

Bibliography

Battistelli, Pier Paolo. Erwin Rommel (Command). Osprey Publishing, 2010.
Beckett, Ian F. Rommel: A Reappraisal. Great Britain, 2013.
Beevor, Antony. The Second World War. Phoenix, 2014.
Bickers, Richard Townshend. The Desert Air War: 1939-1945. Endeavour Press Ltd, 2015.
Butler, Daniel Allen. Field Mashal: the Life and Death of Erwin Rommel. Casemate Publishers, 2015.
Dimbleby, Jonathan. Destiny in the Desert: The Road to El Alamein – the Battle that Turned the Tide. Great Britain, 2012.
Liddell Hart, B.H. A History of the Second World War. Pan Books, 2015.
Hastings, Max. All Hell Let Loose: The World at War 1939-1945. HarperPress, 2011.
Jorgensen, Christer. Afrika Korps: Rommel’s 1941 Offensive (Rapid Reads). Brown Bear Books, 2014.
LaFace, Major Jeffrey L. Tactical Victory Leading to Operational Failure: Rommel in North Africa. Pickle Partners Publishing, 2014.
Lyman R. The Longest Siege: Tobruk – The Battle That Saved North Africa. Pan Books, 2011.
Moorehead, Alan. The Desert War: the Classic Trilogy on the North Africa Campaign 1940-43. CPI Group, 2012.
Nash, N. Strafer Desert General: The Life and Killing of Lieutenant General WHE Gott. Pen and Sword Books Ltd, 2013.
Neillands, Robert. The Desert Rats: 7th Armoured Division 1940-45. UK, 2005.
Neillands, Robert. Eighth Army: From the Western Desert to the Alps, 1939-1945. John Murray Publishers, 2004.
Pitt, Barrie. The Crucible of War: Volume 1: Wavell’s Command. Cassell & Co, 2001.
Playfair, Major-General I.S.O. The Mediterranean and Middle East, Volume II, “The Germans come to the help of their Ally” (1941). The Naval & Military Press Ltd, 2004.
Raugh, H. Wavell in the Middle East 1939-1941: A Study in Generalship. USA, 2013.
Reuth, Ralf Georg. Rommel: The End of a Legend. Haus Publishing, 2005.
Thompson, Dennis H. Discarded Victory – North Africa, 1940-1941. Pickle Partners, 2014.
Williamson, Gordon. Afrikakorps 1941-43 (Elite). Osprey Publishing, 2009.

January 12, 2020

Fighting Far Away From Home – Allied Advance in Africa – WW2 – 072 – January 11 1941

Filed under: Africa, Britain, China, Europe, Greece, History, Italy, Military, WW2 — Tags: , , , , , — Nicholas @ 04:00

World War Two
Published 11 Jan 2020

Action in Albania. Action in North-Africa. Action in East-Africa. Action in China and action on the Mediterranean. It looks like every belligerent party is amping up its efforts to get a foothold wherever they are. And if your enemy is gaining ground? You just throw more material and men at them.

Join us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/TimeGhostHistory
Or join The TimeGhost Army directly at: https://timeghost.tv

Follow WW2 day by day on Instagram @World_war_two_realtime https://www.instagram.com/world_war_t…
Join our Discord Server: https://discord.gg/D6D2aYN.
Between 2 Wars: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list…
Source list: http://bit.ly/WW2sources

Written and Hosted by: Indy Neidell
Produced and Directed by: Spartacus Olsson and Astrid Deinhard
Executive Producers: Bodo Rittenauer, Astrid Deinhard, Indy Neidell, Spartacus Olsson
Creative Producer: Joram Appel
Post-Production Director: Wieke Kapteijns
Research by: Indy Neidell
Edited by: Daniel Weiss
Map animations: Eastory (https://www.youtube.com/c/eastory)

Colorizations by:
– Dememorabilia – https://www.instagram.com/dememorabilia/
– Julius Jääskeläinen – https://www.facebook.com/JJcolorization/

Sources:
IWM (A 4161), (E 872), (A 4162), (A 9793), (A 13509).
Division Coat of Arms by Noclador
oil barrel by BomSymbols from the Noun Project
can by Anniken & Andreas from the Noun Project

Soundtracks from Epidemic Sound:
– “Arriving in Ancient Rome” – Kikoru
– “Easy Target” – Rannar Sillard
– “Split Decision” – Rannar Sillard
– “Road To Tibet 5” – Rannar Sillard
– “Death And Glory 1” – Johannes Bornlöf
– “The Inspector 4” – Johannes Bornlöf
– “Not Safe Yet” – Gunnar Johnsen

Archive by Screenocean/Reuters https://www.screenocean.com.

A TimeGhost chronological documentary produced by OnLion Entertainment GmbH.

From the comments:

World War Two
3 days ago (edited)
It looks like all fronts are heating up this week. And that the German reaction to the British offensive in North-Africa and the Greek progress in Albania is to move more German troops southward. This week already shows how that potentially threatens Britains position in the Mediterranean. Well, just like the British and Germans, we hope to increase our manpower in 1941. Do your part and expand our community of loyal supporters and history buffs by joining the TimeGhost Army on https://www.patreon.com/timeghosthistory and https://timeghost.tv. The war effort needs you!
Cheers, Joram

January 9, 2020

Operation Compass 1940-41 | BATTLESTORM North African Campaign Documentary

Filed under: Africa, Australia, Britain, Germany, History, Italy, Middle East, Military — Tags: , , , , — Nicholas @ 06:00

TIK
Published 21 Dec 2015

The most in-depth look at Operation Compass out there! Using animations and detailed maps, let’s find out what happened in one of the greatest British (and Commonwealth) victories of the war and who was responsible for the destruction of the Italian 10th Army. This video covers the start of the North African Campaign up to the Battle of Beda Fomm.

Sources:
Barnett, C. The Desert Generals. Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 2011.
Bierwirth, J. Beda Fomm: An Operational Analysis. Pickle Partners, 1994.
Christie H. Fallen Eagles: The Italian 10th Army in the Opening Campaign in the Western Desert, June 1940. Pickle Partners 1999.
Dimbleby, J. Destiny in the Desert. Britain 2013.
Moorehead, A. The Desert War: The Classic Trilogy on the North Africa Campaign 1940-43. Aurum Press, 2014.
Playfair, I.S.O. The Mediterranean and Middle East Volume 1: Early Successes against Italy [to May 1941]. 1954.
Wahlert, G. The Western Desert Campaign. Australia, 2011.

Music is my own!

January 5, 2020

It’s 1941 – A World at War – WW2 – 071 – January 4 1941

Filed under: Africa, Britain, China, Europe, Germany, Greece, History, Italy, Japan, Military, WW2 — Tags: , , , , , — Nicholas @ 04:00

World War Two
Published 4 Jan 2020

1941 begins with action in North-Africa and China, but Indy also takes a moment to assess the current stakes and stakeholders in the East-Asian theatre. What is sure, is that 1941 will be an eventful year!

Join us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/TimeGhostHistory
Or join The TimeGhost Army directly at: https://timeghost.tv

Follow WW2 day by day on Instagram @World_war_two_realtime https://www.instagram.com/world_war_t…
Join our Discord Server: https://discord.gg/D6D2aYN.
Between 2 Wars: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list…
Source list: http://bit.ly/WW2sources

Written and Hosted by: Indy Neidell
Produced and Directed by: Spartacus Olsson and Astrid Deinhard
Executive Producers: Bodo Rittenauer, Astrid Deinhard, Indy Neidell, Spartacus Olsson
Creative Producer: Joram Appel
Post-Production Director: Wieke Kapteijns
Research by: Indy Neidell
Edited by: Iryna Dulka
Map animations: Eastory (https://www.youtube.com/c/eastory)

Colorizations by:
– Adrien Fillon – https://www.instagram.com/adrien.colo…
– Julius Jääskeläinen – https://www.facebook.com/JJcolorization/

Sources:
– IWM: MH 2718, C 1850, E2294, E 18542, E 378, E 443, E 3721E, E 1573
– Bundesarchiv, Bild 101I-783-0104-09 / Moosmüller / CC-BY-SA 3.0
– Prison by FORMGUT. from the Noun Project
– Artillery by Creative Mania from the Noun Project

Soundtracks from Epidemic Sound:
– “Easy Target” – Rannar Sillard
– “The Inspector 4” – Johannes Bornlöf
– “Magnificent March 3” – Johannes Bornlöf
– “March Of The Brave 10” – Rannar Sillard
– “March Of The Brave 9” – Rannar Sillard
– “Deviation In Time” – Johannes Bornlof
– “Disciples of Sun Tzu” – Christian Andersen
– “Last Point of Safe Return” – Fabien Tell

Archive by Screenocean/Reuters https://www.screenocean.com.

A TimeGhost chronological documentary produced by OnLion Entertainment GmbH.

From the comments:

World War Two
2 days ago (edited)
Happy New Year to you all!! We hope you all had a great turn of the decade. We certainly have! Here’s a casual, spoiler-free statement: 1941 will be an interesting year. We are all very grateful for those who found us at the very start with the Invasion of Poland, during the Phoney War, the early fighting Northern and Western Europe and the more recent conflicts in Greece and North-Africa. Those of you who joined the TimeGhost Army and support us financially on patreon.com/timeghosthistory or Timeghost.tv deserve extra praise – as we would not have made 1941 without you! And we have BIG plans for the coming year, so please consider supporting us as well! Make history with us and join the TimeGhost Army!!

Here’s to a great 2020 and ‘interesting’ 1941.
Cheers, Joram

December 22, 2019

Red Beard’s Ghost Returns – German Invasion Plans – WW2 – 069 – December 21 1940

Filed under: Britain, Germany, History, Italy, Military, Russia, WW2 — Tags: , , , , , — Nicholas @ 06:00

World War Two
Published 21 Dec 2019

What Adolf Hitler expects to be his Magnum Opus offensive is still 6 months in the future, but it’s going to need plans and more plans. The British, though, are seeing success right now on two fronts far to the south.

Join us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/TimeGhostHistory
Or join The TimeGhost Army directly at: https://timeghost.tv

Follow WW2 day by day on Instagram @World_war_two_realtime https://www.instagram.com/world_war_t…
Join our Discord Server: https://discord.gg/D6D2aYN.
Between 2 Wars: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list…
Source list: http://bit.ly/WW2sources

Written and Hosted by: Indy Neidell
Produced and Directed by: Spartacus Olsson and Astrid Deinhard
Executive Producers: Bodo Rittenauer, Astrid Deinhard, Indy Neidell, Spartacus Olsson
Creative Producer: Joram Appel
Post-Production Director: Wieke Kapteijns
Research by: Indy Neidell
Edited by: Iryna Dulka
Map animations: Eastory (https://www.youtube.com/c/eastory)

Colorizations by:
– Cassowary Colorizations – https://www.cassowarycolor.com/

Sources:
– IWM: E 1513, H 4953A, E 3870E
– Termometer icon by Andi Nur Abdillah, bottle icon by W. X. Chee, The Noun Project

Archive by Screenocean/Reuters https://www.screenocean.com.

A TimeGhost chronological documentary produced by OnLion Entertainment GmbH.

December 21, 2019

Christmas In Tobruk (1943)

Filed under: Africa, Britain, History, Military, WW2 — Tags: , , , — Nicholas @ 04:00

British Pathé
Published 13 Apr 2014

Full title reads: “CHRISTMAS IN TOBRUK”.

Tobruk, Libya.

Several shots of Pathe cameraman Terry Ashwood in his pyjamas as he gets up from his bed in the desert. He looks into his Christmas stocking and reads his cards. Bell on Tobruk Church ringing. Various shots of sacks of mail being sorted at desert sorting post. Several shots of ruined buildings in Tobruk where the Tommies are having their own. They write Merry Xmas on the wall and seem to be enjoying themselves. Soldiers ironing their clothes, “dress up” set the table and serve dinner. Men sitting at table with “Merry Christmas” written on the wall behind them. Christmas feast. Christmas pudding with a twig instead of piece of holly. Men drinking. Terry Ashwood leaving building and it is “snowing”. Pan up to show the men ripping paper into small pieces and throwing it from the balcony.

(Mute & Track Negs.)
FILM ID:1071.21

A VIDEO FROM BRITISH PATHÉ. EXPLORE OUR ONLINE CHANNEL, BRITISH PATHÉ TV. IT’S FULL OF GREAT DOCUMENTARIES, FASCINATING INTERVIEWS, AND CLASSIC MOVIES. http://www.britishpathe.tv/

FOR LICENSING ENQUIRIES VISIT http://www.britishpathe.com/

British Pathé also represents the Reuters historical collection, which includes more than 136,000 items from the news agencies Gaumont Graphic (1910-1932), Empire News Bulletin (1926-1930), British Paramount (1931-1957), and Gaumont British (1934-1959), as well as Visnews content from 1957 to the end of 1984. All footage can be viewed on the British Pathé website. https://www.britishpathe.com/

December 15, 2019

The Empire Strikes Back – Britain’s Operation Compass – WW2 – 068 – December 14, 1940

Filed under: Africa, Britain, Germany, History, Italy, Military, WW2 — Tags: , , , , — Nicholas @ 04:00

World War Two
Published 14 Dec 2019

The First British offensive of the War begins in North Africa. Meanwhile, the German Knickebein system is designed for bombers to accurately bomb British targets at night. This is what the Brits do to stop them.

Join us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/TimeGhostHistory
Or join The TimeGhost Army directly at: https://timeghost.tv

Follow WW2 day by day on Instagram @World_war_two_realtime https://www.instagram.com/world_war_t…
Join our Discord Server: https://discord.gg/D6D2aYN.
Between 2 Wars: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list…
Source list: http://bit.ly/WW2sources

Written and Hosted by: Indy Neidell
Produced and Directed by: Spartacus Olsson and Astrid Deinhard
Executive Producers: Bodo Rittenauer, Astrid Deinhard, Indy Neidell, Spartacus Olsson
Creative Producer: Joram Appel
Post-Production Director: Wieke Kapteijns
Research by: Indy Neidell
Edited by: Iryna Dulka
Map animations: Eastory (https://www.youtube.com/c/eastory)

Thumbnail Colorization (Archie Wavell) by:
– Julius Jääskeläinen – https://www.facebook.com/JJcolorization/

Colorizations by:
– Dememorabilia – https://www.instagram.com/dememorabilia/
– Adrien Fillon – https://www.instagram.com/adrien.colo…

Sources:
– IWM: F 4539, B 10600, CM 355, E 6600, E 3720E, E 1416, E 1378, E 4792
– Tropenmuseum, part of the National Museum of World Cultures

– Prison icon by FORMGUT. from the Noun Project; Compass by RULI from the Noun Project.

Archive by Screenocean/Reuters https://www.screenocean.com.

A TimeGhost chronological documentary produced by OnLion Entertainment GmbH.

August 24, 2019

Italy’s African Destiny | BETWEEN 2 WARS I 1931 Part 1 of 3

Filed under: Africa, Europe, History, Italy, Military — Tags: , , , , , , — Nicholas @ 05:00

TimeGhost History
Published on 23 Aug 2019

When Mussolini wants to solidify Italy’s North African colonies, he faces massive opposition by one man: Omar Mukhtar, the Lion of the Desert.

Join us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/TimeGhostHistory

Subscribe to our World War Two series: https://www.youtube.com/c/worldwartwo…

Hosted by: Indy Neidell
Written by: Spartacus Olsson
Directed by: Spartacus Olsson and Astrid Deinhard
Executive Producers: Bodo Rittenauer, Astrid Deinhard, Indy Neidell, Spartacus Olsson
Creative Producer: Joram Appel
Post-Production Director: Wieke Kapteijns
Research by: Naman Habtom
Edited by: Daniel Weiss
Sound design: Iryna Dulka

Archive by Reuters/Screenocean http://screenocean.com

Sources:

Online:
https://www.politico.com/blogs/ben-sm…
Muslim Fascist Party and Youth Wing
http://countrystudies.us/libya/21.htm (Library of Congress)
https://www.nam.ac.uk/explore/senussi…
https://awayfromthewesternfront.org/c…
https://www.brookings.edu/blog/order-…
https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/ar…

Journal Articles:
Arielli, Nir. “Italian Involvement in the Arab Revolt in Palestine, 1936-1939.” British Journal of Middle Eastern Studies, vol. 35, no. 2, 2008, pp. 187–204. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/20455584.

Bussotti, L. (2016) “A History of Italian Citizenship Laws during the Era of the Monarchy (1861-1946)”. Advances in Historical Studies, 5, 143-167. doi: 10.4236/ahs.2016.54014.

Cooke, James J. “Destino Affricano De Popolo Italiano: Franco-Italian Controversy Over Tunisia, 1936-1940.” Proceedings of the Meeting of the French Colonial Historical Society, 13/14, 1990, pp. 203–216. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/42952205.

Collins, Carole. “Imperialism and Revolution in Libya.” MERIP Reports, no. 27, 1974, pp. 3–22. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/3011335.

KOPANSKI, ATAULLAH BOGDAN. “ISLAM IN ITALY AND IN ITS LIBYAN COLONY (720-1992).” Islamic Studies, vol. 32, no. 2, 1993, pp. 191–204. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/20840121.

Pankhurst, Richard. “Education in Ethiopia during the Italian Fascist Occupation (1936-1941).” The International Journal of African Historical Studies, vol. 5, no. 3, 1972, pp. 361–396. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/217091.

Pretelli, Matteo. “Education in the Italian colonies during the interwar period.” Modern Italy, Vol. 16, No. 3, August 2011, 275–293

Books:
Mark I. Choate: Emigrant nation: the making of Italy abroad, Harvard University Press, 2008, ISBN 0-674-02784-1, page 175.

Peter Bandella The Eternal City: Roman Images in the Modern World, Chapter 7 – The University of North Carolina Press, 1987, ISBN 0-8078-6511-7

Ahmad Hassanein Bey The Lost Oases (read a Swedish translation by Ulla Ericson), American University of Cairo, reprinted 2006 (original 1925), ISBN 978-91-87771-41-5

A TimeGhost chronological documentary produced by OnLion Entertainment GmbH.

From the comments:

TimeGhost History
1 hour ago
As we approach one year of WW2 In Real Time we cannot express our gratitude for your support enough. It is the financial and spiritual involvement of the TimeGhost Army at https://www.patreon.com/TimeGhostHistory and https://timeghost.tv that has made it possible for us to do all of this – so thank you, once again!

This episode comes out as our WW2 series is covering the first battles in the North African theatre. The Second World War there will have major impact on world events between 1940 and 1944. And this is the second episode covering the background to the conflict in North Africa and the Middle East. We will return to Africa again, but before that we will look at what is going on in Germany, Japan and the USSR in the early 1930s – as some of you might already guess or know, those are dramatic times in those places and it is in these years that the world takes its first concrete steps towards the conflict that erupts into world war in 1939.

June 22, 2019

QotD: Militant Islam and the arts

Filed under: History, Media, Quotations, Religion — Tags: , , , , , — Nicholas @ 01:00

What I’ve learned since 9/11 is that the small pleasures — music, theatre, film — have to be earned. In the Muslim world, there is no music. In Libya they destroyed all the musical instruments — music was considered an abomination. When the demography changes, there will be no concert halls. Artists who take a multicultural view should be aware of this. Count the number of covered women in London’s West End. In Birmingham, where I went to high school, you have a provincial symphony orchestra in a Muslim city — I’m not sure it will survive. All art, all popular culture, is endangered by Islam, because there’s no room for it. It’s considered libertinism. And I’m not even talking about Miley Cyrus twerking at the music awards. What turned Sayyid Qutb against the morality of the West is that he attended a church dance in Greeley, Colorado, which was a dry town in 1948, and he heard the song “Baby, It’s Cold Outside”. He thought it was evil. And now things are getting a lot worse. Ugly things are happening.

Mark Steyn, interviewed by John Bloom, “Mark Steyn, Cole Porter and Free Speech”, Quadrant, 2017-05-11.

March 10, 2019

There’s something bigger at stake in the SNC-Lavalin affair than Trudeau’s career

Filed under: Business, Cancon, Government, Law — Tags: , , , , , — Nicholas @ 03:00

Chris Selley explains why SNC-Lavalin is an example of Canada’s less-than-stellar record of holding corporations to account:

… University of Michigan law professor David Uhlmann argues in a 2016 paper, “criminal prosecution of corporations upholds the rule of law, validates the choices of law-abiding companies, and promotes accountability. … When corporations face no consequences for their criminal behavior, we minimize their lawlessness, and increase cynicism about the outsized influence of corporations.”

No kidding. And in a country like Canada, not to say a province like Quebec, it’s safe to say these lines of accountability and trust get severely tangled. Once a government deems any company “too big to fail,” whether it’s because of political donations or connections, or because its pension plan is heavily invested, or because it has acquired a creepy semi-sacred status among otherwise normal people — or indeed, because of an alleged 9,000 jobs — all these nice theories about the rule of law break down. That’s what we’ve been witnessing.

But there’s an even bigger breakdown going on that’s received far less attention. Employees allegedly behind Lavalin’s Libyan capers were criminally charged as well. Between them, former vice-president Sami Bebawi and former controller Stéphane Roy faced charges including defrauding the Libyan state, money laundering, violating UN sanctions, bribing Saadi Gadhafi — Moammar’s soccer-playing, Montreal-enjoying third son — and trying to extract him from Libya once it all kicked off in 2011.

Those charges were laid in February 2014. Last month, some against Bebawi and all against Roy were dismissed because the Crown didn’t manage to bring them to trial in five blessed years. In a scathing decision, judge Patricia Compagnone characterized the Crown’s behaviour as a perfect illustration of the “culture of complacency” and the “culture of delays” the Supreme Court had assailed in its landmark 2016 Jordan decision, which established empirical standards for the Charter right “to be tried within a reasonable time.”

It is an ever-more-curious mystery that Canada’s comprehensively screwed-up justice system never rises to the level of political crisis. In the first year after the Jordan decision alone, some 200 cases were thrown out on grounds of excessive delays. Some of the accused make the Friends of Moammar look like saints. They include alleged murderers, child molesters and drunk drivers.

The charges against SNC-Lavalin were laid in February 2015. More than four years later, we’re still fighting over whether to pursue them — and not, it must be said, in a way that makes us look like a terribly serious country. How nauseatingly fitting it would be if a court threw the case out before the feds even got a chance to decide what to do with it.

September 10, 2017

In search of silphium, the lost herb of the Roman empire

Filed under: Africa, Environment, Food, History, Middle East — Tags: , , , — Nicholas @ 03:00

Zaria Gorvett recounts the story of a Roman-era herb that was at one point literally worth its weight in gold:

Long ago, in the ancient city of Cyrene, there was a herb called silphium. It didn’t look like much – with stout roots, stumpy leaves and bunches of small yellow flowers – but it oozed with an odiferous sap that was so delicious and useful, the plant was eventually worth its weight in gold.

To list its uses would be an endless task. Its crunchable stalks were roasted, sauteed or boiled and eaten as a vegetable. Its roots were eaten fresh, dipped in vinegar. It was an excellent preservative for lentils and when it was fed to sheep, their flesh became delectably tender.

Perfume was coaxed from its delicate blooms, while its sap was dried and grated liberally over dishes from brains to braised flamingo. Known as “laser”, the condiment was as fundamental to Roman haute cuisine as eating your food horizontally in a toga.

[…]

A coin of Cyrene depicting the stalk of a Silphium plant. (Source: 1889 edition of Principal Coins of the Ancients, plate 35, via Wikimedia)

Indeed, the Romans loved it so much, they referenced their darling herb in poems and songs, and wrote it into great works of literature. For centuries, local kings held a monopoly on the plant, which made the city of Cyrene, at modern Shahhat, Libya, the richest in Africa. Before they gave it away to the Romans, the Greek inhabitants even put it on their money. Julius Caesar went so far as to store a cache (1,500lbs or 680kg) in the official treasury.

But today, silphium has vanished – possibly just from the region, possibly from our planet altogether. Pliny wrote that within his lifetime, only a single stalk was discovered. It was plucked and sent to the emperor Nero as a curiosity sometime around 54-68AD.
With just a handful of stylised images and the accounts of ancient naturalists to go on, the true identity of the Romans’ favourite herb is a mystery. Some think it was driven to extinction, others that it’s still hiding in plain sight as a Mediterranean weed. How did this happen? And could we bring it back?

March 4, 2016

The US Arms Industry – The Fight for Douaumont I THE GREAT WAR – Week 84

Filed under: Europe, France, Germany, History, Military, USA, WW1 — Tags: , , , — Nicholas @ 08:44

Published on 3 Mar 2016

The fierce Battle of Verdun continues but as the Germans under Crown prince Wilhelm push harder and harder, the German casualties begin to rise to the same levels as the French. The French Army is only kept alive through the sacred road which brings men to the front without a pause. One French soldier that gets captured around Verdun, is Charles De Gaulle. At the same time, on the almost forgotten Libyan Front South African cavalry saves the day like in the glorious past of the British Army.

November 20, 2015

The Forgotten Front – World War 1 in Libya I THE GREAT WAR – Week 69

Filed under: Europe, History, Italy, Military, WW1 — Tags: , , — Nicholas @ 05:00

Published on 19 Nov 2015

12 war zones were not enough for this global war and this week an often forgotten theatre of war opens in Libya. Local Arab tribesmen fight against the British in guerrilla war. As if the Italians did not have enough problems at the Isonzo Front where Luigi Cardona is still sending his men into certain death against the Austrian defences. The situation for the Serbs is grim too and on the Western Front the carnage continues unchanged.

« Newer Posts — Older Posts »

Powered by WordPress